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[@hubermanlab] ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus | Huberman Lab Essentials

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@hubermanlab - "ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus | Huberman Lab Essentials"

Link: https://youtu.be/LAwBdRR4wQk

Short Summary​

Number One Action Item/Takeaway:

Practice open monitoring by consciously dilating your gaze to panoramic vision for short periods to reduce attentional blinks and improve overall focus.

Executive Summary:

This episode explores the neurobiology of ADHD, focusing on the role of dopamine in attention and the differences in brain network activity between those with and without ADHD. Treatments often involve stimulant medications like Adderall to increase dopamine, but behavioral interventions such as practicing deliberate gaze control and limiting screen time can also significantly improve focus.

Key Quotes​

Here are 5 quotes from the YouTube video transcript that represent valuable insights:

  1. "People with ADHD have the capacity to attend, but they can't engage that attention for things that they don't really really want to do."
  2. "In a person with ADHD, the default mode networks and the task networks are actually more coordinated. And we can now confidently say based on brain imaging studies that when somebody gets better when they're treated for ADHD or when they age out of ADHD as sometimes is the case that the default mode networks and the task networks tend to become anti-correlated again."
  3. "Knowing what we now know about dopamine and the fact that having enough dopamine is required in order to coordinate these neural circuits that allow for focus and quality decision-making. An equally valid idea is that these children and these adults are actually trying to self-medicate by pursuing these compounds."
  4. "If you have the opportunity to work with a quality physician and treat these things early, these drugs can allow these frontal circuits, these task related circuits to achieve their appropriate levels of functioning and for kids to learn how to focus in a variety of different contexts."
  5. "Time is set by how often you blink. And how widely or specifically you are grabbing attention from the visual world is set by whether or not you're viewing things very specifically like a crosshair or through a soda straw view like this or whether or not you are in this panoramic sort of whole environment mode. This kind of fisheye lens or wide angle lens mode."

Detailed Summary​

Here's a detailed summary of the video transcript, organized by key topics and information:

I. Introduction to ADHD

  • Definition: Attention, focus, and concentration are treated as synonymous for the purpose of the discussion. ADHD includes difficulty holding attention and impulse control issues.
  • Prevalence: Approximately 1 in 10 children are estimated to have ADHD. Roughly half of those will resolve with proper treatment. There are also increasing levels of ADHD diagnoses in adults.
  • Diagnosis: Emphasizes that a proper diagnosis of ADHD should be carried out by a qualified professional (psychiatrist, physician, or clinical psychologist).

II. Characteristics & Symptoms of ADHD

  • Core Issues:
    • Challenges with attention and focus.
    • Difficulties with impulse control.
  • Common Symptoms:
    • Distractibility.
    • Impulsivity.
    • Easy annoyance.
    • Potential for high emotionality.
    • Challenges with time perception (e.g., lateness, procrastination).
    • Difficulties with working memory (holding information temporarily).
  • Hyperfocus: People with ADHD can achieve heightened focus on activities they enjoy or find intriguing.

III. Neurobiology of Focus and ADHD

  • Dopamine's Role: Enjoyment and curiosity are linked to dopamine release. Dopamine creates a heightened state of focus. It narrows auditory and visual focus, leading to better exterosception (attention to the outside world).
  • Neural Circuits:
    • Default Mode Network: Brain areas active when at rest. Consists of the frontal cortex, dorsal and lateral part, the posterior singulate cortex, and the lateral parietal lobe. In individuals without ADHD, these are synchronized. In ADHD (or poor sleep), these areas are not synchronized.
    • Task Networks: Brain areas related to goal-oriented behavior. The medial prefrontal cortex communicates with other brain areas to suppress impulses.
    • Relationship Between Networks: In individuals without ADHD, task networks and default mode networks are anti-correlated (seesaw fashion). In people with ADHD, these networks tend to be more correlated. Treatments for ADHD aim to restore the anti-correlation. Dopamine acts as a conductor to ensure these networks remain out of sync.

IV. Dopamine Hypothesis of ADHD

  • Low Dopamine Hypothesis: Proposes that ADHD is linked to insufficient dopamine levels in certain brain circuits. This leads to unnecessary neuron firing unrelated to the current task.
  • Self-Medication: People with ADHD may unconsciously seek dopamine-inducing substances (recreational drugs, stimulants, sugary foods) to improve focus.
  • Pharmaceutical Treatments: Drugs like Ritalin (methylphenidate), Adderall, and Modafinil work by increasing dopamine levels in the brain, especially in networks controlling task-directed behavior.
  • Drug Similarities: The presenter emphasizes that many ADHD medications are chemically similar to stimulants with high potential for abuse (e.g., amphetamine).

V. Treating ADHD in Children

  • Brain Plasticity: Highlights the brain's high plasticity in childhood. Stimulants help the frontal cortex network come online and allow the child to learn what focus is. It chemically induces the state of focus, even on things they don't want to do.
  • Pediatric Neurologist's Perspective:
    • Early intervention with low-dose amphetamines, under medical supervision, can be beneficial.
    • Neuroplasticity is highest in childhood. Early treatment can help the task-related circuits achieve appropriate functioning.

VI. Improving Focus - Attentional Blinks, Panoramic Vision, and Time Perception

  • Attentional Blinks: When you find a target in a visual search, you pause. You are not able to see another target right next to it.
  • Open Monitoring: Accessing the state through panoramic vision to attend and recognize multiple targets. Can be trained by learning to dilate gaze consciously. 17 minutes of training reduced attentional blinks and improved focus.
  • Time Perception and Blinking: Blinking rate is controlled by dopamine and affects perception of time. Dopamine controls attention; blinks relate to attention. Blinking and dopamine work together to control attention. Intentionally focusing your visual attention (fixation) can improve focus. This also involved focusing on objects at different distances and doing physical movement exercises.

VII. Supplements and Other Approaches

  • Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Consumption can positively modulate attention and focus. 300 mg of DHA is an inflection point.
  • Phosphatidylserine: May reduce ADHD symptoms in children, especially when combined with omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Modafinil & Armodafinil: Weak dopamine reuptake inhibitors gaining popularity as alternatives to Adderall and Ritalin.
  • Acetylcholine: Drugs that increase cholinergic transmission increase focus and cognition. Example: Alpha GPC. Typical dosages for studying or learning are 300-600mg.
  • L-Tyrosine: An amino acid that acts as a precursor to the dopamine neuromodulator. Dosaging is tricky, and it can cause euphoria or jitteriness. Use with caution, especially with underlying mood disorders.

VIII. The Impact of Smartphones

  • Smartphones create millions of attentional windows, leading to context switching and potential attention deficits.
  • Limiting smartphone use to 60 minutes per day for adolescents and 2 hours per day for adults is recommended to maintain focus.

IX. Conclusion

  • Success in life is proportional to the amount of focus one can bring to an activity.
  • Smartphone usage is eroding attentional capacities.